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Congratulations to M3ntal on putting down a very impressive 1/4 mile run with his stock motor 996TT. You may remember this car dyno'd 717 wheel horsepower on the stock motor with E85 at 22 psi. For this run the car was running 22psi and E85 along with FP30R turbos with the tune coming from Roshan Patel. The end result is a very stout 10.3@136 1/4 mile run. The car also appears to be converted to rear wheel drive.

Ditching the all wheel drive makes the car lighter but also allows for more horsepower to the rear wheels. Not to mention parts won't break as easily on the strip. Putting power down does not seem to be an issue as the 60 foot time was 1.671.

At least... They look intimidating to work on but it actually isn't the case. I treat it like any other car.

Jump into one... If the 996 is too "old" for you hop into a 997.1. Superior AWD system anyway.

997.1 turbo is still > $60k even for a high mile car, so not quite the bargain that the 996 is. However, the .1 is spot on, as you still get the Mezger block and don't have all the DFI bull$#@! to worry about as you would with the 997.2.

The next wave of cars to become "affordable" (50-60k range over next 2-5 years) have a LOT of high HP-potential:

997.1 Turbo / GT2

Lambo Gallardo

Audi R8 (V10)

Corvette Z06

Dodge SRT-10

Ford GT-500 (current version)

Cadillac CTS-V and/or Camaro ZL1

Nissan GTR

Mercedes AMGs with M156 or M157 motor

Obviously some will still be high side of 60k, but all of those cars are capable of 650-700 WHP on their stock motors with basic bolts-ons. IN addition, the next gen M3, RS4 & C63 will all be out with aftermarket mods

I have been eyeing the 996TT's up for a few years now. Very impressive cars for sure. The 996's are very good however, the ones you see for <$40k are usually the 01's. Stay vigilant on the maintenance as the 01-02's had a 2nd gear pop out issue which ended in a recall. Some, not really many at all, but some do suffer from catastrophic engine failure. A lot are in part to do with maintenance and upkeep of the car and some are just a rare case. Very strong engines indeed though. I prefer a 997.1 TT and am holding out until they get cheaper; so maybe in the next 5 years I will make the purchase. The interior update on the 997 is what makes me want to hop on it. Other than that you really cannot go wrong with the 996TT. Very excellent car with a lot of information out there as well as aftermarket support and the prices are definitely on the decline. Check out 6speedonline.com in the classifieds, there is always a stock or modified 996 for sale.

I have been eyeing the 996TT's up for a few years now. Very impressive cars for sure. The 996's are very good however, the ones you see for <$40k are usually the 01's. Stay vigilant on the maintenance as the 01-02's had a 2nd gear pop out issue which ended in a recall. Some, not really many at all, but some do suffer from catastrophic engine failure. A lot are in part to do with maintenance and upkeep of the car and some are just a rare case. Very strong engines indeed though. I prefer a 997.1 TT and am holding out until they get cheaper; so maybe in the next 5 years I will make the purchase. The interior update on the 997 is what makes me want to hop on it. Other than that you really cannot go wrong with the 996TT. Very excellent car with a lot of information out there as well as aftermarket support and the prices are definitely on the decline. Check out 6speedonline.com in the classifieds, there is always a stock or modified 996 for sale.

Mine is a '02. So far no 2nd gear pop out issues... knock on wood. Bought it with 29k miles on it. It now has over 40k and I DO NOT baby her. I really do believe 2nd gear pop out issues are exasperated by poor drivers chewing away at the synchros and such. I also think the issue may be blown out of proportion. Two of my friends have '01 and no issues with either of theirs and they are heavily modded.

Why do you say they suffer from catastrophic engine failure? They do not have IMS issues and do not suffer from engine damage unless self inflicted by a bad tune or that lack of a "REAL" fuel system (which is usually the case). I over engineered my fuel system with a radiumauto sump, two bosch 044 pumps, and all new -8an lines feeding each rail separately because of this. I've owned a few high hp cars and the Porsche is by far my favorite. Great bang for the buck!

I have been eyeing the 996TT's up for a few years now. Very impressive cars for sure. The 996's are very good however, the ones you see for <$40k are usually the 01's. Stay vigilant on the maintenance as the 01-02's had a 2nd gear pop out issue which ended in a recall. Some, not really many at all, but some do suffer from catastrophic engine failure. A lot are in part to do with maintenance and upkeep of the car and some are just a rare case. Very strong engines indeed though. I prefer a 997.1 TT and am holding out until they get cheaper; so maybe in the next 5 years I will make the purchase. The interior update on the 997 is what makes me want to hop on it. Other than that you really cannot go wrong with the 996TT. Very excellent car with a lot of information out there as well as aftermarket support and the prices are definitely on the decline. Check out 6speedonline.com in the classifieds, there is always a stock or modified 996 for sale.

I'm jumping into a e92 m3 instead.....I want to keep the car relatively stock (wheels and suspension) and drive the hell out of it. I also want the factory warranty. The 335 annoyed me with all the mods, I feel like id do the same with the pcar. In a couple years I may get one though!

Congratulations to M3ntal on putting down a very impressive 1/4 mile run with his stock motor 996TT. You may remember this car dyno'd 717 wheel horsepower on the stock motor with E85 at 22 psi. For this run the car was running 22psi and E85 along with FP30R turbos with the tune coming from Roshan Patel. The end result is a very stout 10.3@136 1/4 mile run. The car also appears to be converted to rear wheel drive.

Ditching the all wheel drive makes the car lighter but also allows for more horsepower to the rear wheels. Not to mention parts won't break as easily on the strip. Putting power down does not seem to be an issue as the 60 foot time was 1.671.

Damn you M3ntal for making my car choices next time much more difficult. My old man has a 997.1 with just a tune and it is very much a beast (not like yours obviously). As much as I like the 997s, I actually like the 996 bodystyle moreso. I've seen some clean ones run around $40k and it is very tempting, but the thought on working on them seems daunting. I do agree though that having a really fast Porsche is very very appealing.

They also are dead reliable. Ive had zero issues during my 16 month ownership. Its really a car you can drive everyday. You can tell they took the setup from the gt1 race car. The drivetrain is very well built and can support the additional power.

I was out at NJ Motorsports park on a 102 degree day this past summer and finished every session on a stock cooling system while a lot of the cars were pulling in from overheating issues after 10 mins.

They also are dead reliable. Ive had zero issues during my 16 month ownership. Its really a car you can drive everyday. You can tell they took the setup from the gt1 race car. The drivetrain is very well built and can support the additional power.

I was out at NJ Motorsports park on a 102 degree day this past summer and finished every session on a stock cooling system while a lot of the cars were pulling in from overheating issues after 10 mins.

Yeah the GT3s had no issues either! The only thing ive noticed is that on the higher mileage ones weve had to replace the radiators because they either leak or get so clogged up with dirt that its really hard to wash them out...fresh radiators on a car that gets tracked most of its life is always a welcome improvement.

Mine is a '02. So far no 2nd gear pop out issues... knock on wood. Bought it with 29k miles on it. It now has over 40k and I DO NOT baby her. I really do believe 2nd gear pop out issues are exasperated by poor drivers chewing away at the synchros and such. I also think the issue may be blown out of proportion. Two of my friends have '01 and no issues with either of theirs and they are heavily modded.

Why do you say they suffer from catastrophic engine failure? They do not have IMS issues and do not suffer from engine damage unless self inflicted by a bad tune or that lack of a "REAL" fuel system (which is usually the case). I over engineered my fuel system with a radiumauto sump, two bosch 044 pumps, and all new -8an lines feeding each rail separately because of this. I've owned a few high hp cars and the Porsche is by far my favorite. Great bang for the buck!

There's been a few here and there throughout the years that pop up with blown engines. Some stock some not. Like I said though, it's a rare possibility, but possible. However, the 2nd gear issue was more than just a few forum cars as it ended in a recall.

I guess there's a "possibilty" of a blown engine on any car you buy but to say its specific to a metzger engine makes no sense. There really is no huge flaw in these motors. Coolant fittings need to be welded in place and that's a time consuming job but certainly doesn't lead to a blown engine.

Also with the 2nd gear pop-out. Mostly due to driver abuse. The vast majority of times it is a few missed shifts that grind off the edge of the 2nd gear and result in no 'retention' force. As you probably know, the dbox detent helps but does not cure it nor does it prevent future failure.